decorated money boxesPing pong challengeMy turn now....Oyster biscuit with pearlCoins in the desertAndrew relates the parablesPuppets help us with the story

Messy Church - 26 February 2017

Report and photos - Jim Paterson

Sheila and Andrew host 'guess the value' competition during celebration time

The
February families braved inclement weather, of wind and rain, to
head for the church hall on Sunday 26th. The February theme was
'Hidden Treasure', God's kingdom. We used the Parable of the Hidden Treasure:
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field,
which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and
sells all that he has and buys that field, and The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value: “Again,
the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine
pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great
value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

The
range of crafts reflected the theme, from hidden pearls, treasure
chests, oysters in various forms, at least one that we could eat,
precious jewels, and thank you coins.

Money box
- We all have a money box to save our coins so making and decorating
one was fun. Margaret Webster showed us how to make ours. We talked
about what you like to spend money on. Do we save our money, or
give it away?

Oyster biscuit
- This was the one we could eat when complete. Elaine Jacobs showed us
how to take two biscuits and place a 'pearl' made of icing in the
middle. We talked about whether we had ever found anything precious.
How it felt to find it, and what we did with it.

Now it was time to get really messy

Pearls among seaweed
- Neil Cape had filled a paddling pool with water, and I can vouch it
was freezing cold water as well. The pool was full of seaweed and kelp.
hidden within was the treasure, in the shape of marbles
representing pearls, of various sizes. We had a minute each
to move our hands around in the water searching for our 'pearls'
Joan Cape did bring a kettle of warm water to take the chill of the
pool water, but it was still pretty cold. We talked about how precious
we thought knowing Jesus is.

Back to less messy activities,

Ping Pong pearl challenge
- Using jumbo straws this one had us move the ping pong balls from one
container to the other in the fastest time using only one straw and no
hands! We thought about how the man in the parable must have
felt when he found the pearl.

Precious jewels
- was one for the girls. Beryl Thompson helped to create a necklace or
bracelet, for the girls, either for themselves or for someone else,
while thinking about what the treasure in the field
represents.

Thank you coins (prayer activity) - David
Hogg hosted the hunt for coins in the desert, actually a basin full of
sand, We used our fingers to search through the dry sand hoping to find
the hidden coins,
each with a label: “person”, “place”, or
“object”. If we found a person, we thanked God
for someone you know. If we found a place, we thanked God for somewhere
that is special to us. If we found an object, thanked God for
something that is special.

The
celebration time in the church saw the return of the puppets, thanks to
Sheila Anderson and the senior girls in the Messy Church.

Value
is important when searching and finding hidden treasure, and we started
a challenge by splitting the children into two teams, then showing
items on screen that they had to put a price to. From a tin of beans to
oysters, a string of pearls, both cultured and natural, had us
scratching our heads.

Sheila
Anderson and Andrew Don, with help from the puppets, told us the
parables of the 'hidden treasure', with one of the boys searching for
it, and 'great value', with one of the girls playing the old
woman finding a huge and precious pearl. We finally came together
in prayer to thank God for the great gifts and treasure he gives us. Then
it was back to the hall for a warm meal of past and 'pearl' meatballs
with oyster shells filled with ice cream and a marshmallow 'pearl' in
the middle.

March Messy Church will be held on Sunday 26th 4 to 6pm in the church hall.Ideal for families with children. A fun way to learn about God and Jesus through stories, song and crafts.

For more information on Messy Church contact Joan Cape 674276

Penicuik: St. Mungo's Parish
Church (Church of
Scotland). Scottish Charity No SC005838